One Gang a day
![A scene from ’Gang,“ the title song of singer Rain’s 2017 album ’My Life.“ [YOUTUBE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2020/05/26/06483075-0a37-439d-bff7-4d20316bd668.jpg)
A scene from ’Gang,“ the title song of singer Rain’s 2017 album ’My Life.“ [YOUTUBE]
The author is the head of the sports news team of the JoongAng Ilbo.
Many drops make a shower, just like a view a day can accumulate into 10 million. Fans are watching the “Gang” music video daily. “Gang” was the title song of Rain’s EP “My Life” released in December 2017. “One Gang a day” describes the trend of watching the video on YouTube once a day. On May 23, the music video hit 10 million views. But when the song was first released, it received harsh criticism and struggled in the charts. Soon after, it disappeared from people’s minds.
Then a small movement began on YouTube. It started as a mockery but views on the music video gradually grew. And “One Gang a day” became a trend. In March, a girl posted a dance cover of “Gang” on YouTube, and its popularity exploded. Many people joined the “Gang Challenge” to share cover videos on YouTube and social media. Portal sites posted related news. Curiosity became interest, which developed into affection.
British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins established the concept of “meme” in his 1976 book “The Selfish Gene.” “I think that a new kind of replicator has recently emerged on this very planet,” Dawkins writes, “already it is achieving evolutionary change at a rate that leaves the old gene panting far behind.” He called the replicator “meme,” blending the Greek word “mimesis” and English word “gene” to refer to a “unit of cultural transmission” or a “a unit of imitation and replication.”
Dawkins explains, “memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain.”
Experts analyze that the spread of one Gang a day is the work of memes. The core of watching and sharing “Gang” is propagating from brain to brain through imitation. It strangely coincides with “good influence.” A good act of a celebrity propagates through imitation, and it can also be considered a meme in a broader sense.
In the age of virus and epidemic, I hope everyone will imitate someone’s good deed and make it “viral.”
JoongAng Ilbo, May 26, Page 29
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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